Fitness and Mortality: New Research Challenges Previous Findings

Numerous studies have shown that physically active people are less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, a new study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology challenges these findings. Scientists have found that the link between physical fitness and reduced mortality may be misleading .

The researchers analyzed data from 1.1 million Swedish men who were called up for military service between 1972 and 1995. Their fitness levels were assessed at an average age of 18 and followed until age 60 or death.

As expected, men with a high level of physical fitness had a 58% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease , a 31% lower risk of dying from cancer, and a 53% lower risk of overall mortality than the least fit men. What was unexpected, however, was that the risk of dying from accidents* (road accidents, drowning, homicide) was also 53% lower in fit men.

"This suggests that people with different fitness levels may differ in other important ways that previous studies have not taken into account," explains *Marcel Ballin, lead author of the study.

To test the validity of the results, the scientists used a negative control method — they compared the relationship between physical fitness and mortality from causes that, logically, should not depend on it. However, the difference was almost the same* as in the case of diseases. An additional analysis of the brothers (which takes into account common genetic and environmental factors) confirmed that even within the same family, more physically fit men were less likely to die prematurely.

Conclusions: Reassessing the impact of fitness on health

The study's findings suggest that traditional observational studies may have overestimated the impact of physical fitness on reducing mortality.

"If we always ask the same question, we always get the same answer. Only by changing the approach can we see the real picture,"* Ballin notes.

While physical activity is certainly beneficial, the authors emphasize that large-scale prevention programs need to be based on better data to avoid making unrealistic expectations.